Cultural and Heritage Tourism

The National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States defines heritage tourism as “travelling to experience the places and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past" and cultural heritage tourism as “travelling to experience the places and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present".

Spend a few jaw-clenching winters in Chicago in the U.S., and you'd be taking the first flight to Bangkok, too. That's what Ric Gazarian did: “I had a couple of friends in Chicago who were spending the winters in Miami,” he told me. “I said to myself, why are my friends so smart and why am I so dumb? I shouldn't be here!”

There's no single Southeast Asia culture: millennia of Buddhist practice and subsequent tides of missionary and colonial activity have transformed the region into a patchwork of cultures, each manifesting beautifully in a variety of ways.

Spend a few jaw-clenching winters in Chicago in the U.S., and you'd be taking the first flight to Bangkok, too. That's what Ric Gazarian did: “I had a couple of friends in Chicago who were spending the winters in Miami,” he told me. “I said to myself, why are my friends so smart and why am I so dumb? I shouldn't be here!”

There's no single Southeast Asia culture: millennia of Buddhist practice and subsequent tides of missionary and colonial activity have transformed the region into a patchwork of cultures, each manifesting beautifully in a variety of ways.